The owner of the 138-foot Cizgi E&E is a longtime sailor who thought he was doing his part for the eco-friendly movement. He even went so far as to spend three years planning and building E&E in ways that would keep fuel use low—and this was more than a decade ago, before being eco-friendly became wholly fashionable.
“Because of our sensitivity regarding the environment, we started thinking about these things with the design of the boat,” says owner’s representative Sansal Ilgun. “We did the testing in Holland and tried to achieve the best propeller design, the best engine power and the best-performing hull. The result of that is that our engines consume only 130 liters [34 gallons] at 11 knots. We don’t do more than this—because that’s the best. Our top speed is 14 or 15 knots, but it’s senseless. You consume much more.”
And yet, even with that kind of mindfulness taking place, the owner realized the scope of the planet’s problems required much more action. Specifically, he wanted to do more about the trash and plastic making their way into the waters he felt passionate about protecting, both where he cruised in the Mediterranean and beyond.
“He decided to do something on land to minimize waste,” Ilgun says. “All the waste in the sea and the oceans is coming from the land.”
In 2015, the owner founded the Mind Your Waste Foundation. Based in Turkey, the group does educational and lobbying campaigns that promote recycling and work to eliminate plastic use and littering.
And what better place to show what might be possible than aboard his own yacht?
This past spring, the Yacht Club de Monaco awarded E&E its La Belle Class Explorer Award for the program’s commitment to environmentally mindful cruising and charter operations. The owner still has the yacht running at fuel-efficient speeds and has since worked to ban the use of plastic on board, allowed only biodegradable cleaning products to be used, and applauded his crewmembers not only for picking up litter, but also for posting signs on beaches that encourage people to dispose of trash properly.
“We don’t buy any plastic water bottles or drinks,” Ilgun says. “We have our own water-purifying system. Our guests coming on board, we give them a reusable water bottle with the Mind Your Waste logo on it, and we encourage them to use that bottle all the time, including when they go on shore. If they insist on a certain type of water, like Evian or something, we put it into these bottles so we don’t use any kind of plastic bottles or straws.”
So far, he adds, charter clients have been happy to go along with the program.
“Everybody is starting to believe that this world has limited resources,” he says. “There will be the end of clean water and clean air and a clean environment. Everybody respects that and believes that, in the future, we will all be on the same page. We had to start from somewhere, so we started.”
The wide-angle views of the water from on board E&E help to drive home what’s at stake. The yacht has an unusual layout, with the master stateroom in the traditional location forward on the main deck but with the other four guest staterooms one level up, with larger windows than are possible belowdecks. That level on E&E is for crew, including any extra staff a charter client wants to add.
And if they want to pick up trash too, they are welcome to join in. “These things are like the sea star story,” Ilgun says, referring to what Americans call “The Starfish Story,” about every bit contributing toward change. “You have to start somewhere, and one day, it will make a difference. We have made the world very dirty. We have to clean it.”
